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Topic Review (Newest First)

07-01-2013 12:43 AM

sol518

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

I also sail in the mountains of Colorado.

My boat is set up with slugs and a mast gate. I'll motor into the wind at an idle. There is a cleat on each stern corner of the boat so I'll run a rope from one cleat, a couple wraps around the tiller, then to the other cleat. This lets me make adjustments to the tiller, the wraps slide.

Then I'll go to the front of the cockpit and raise the main with the main sheet loose. Pull in the main, turn away from the wind, and shut off the motor.

06-30-2013 04:00 AM

northoceanbeach

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

You can also put cleats on the side of your tiller and have
Lines or bungees connected to lines run from the sides of your boat, cleared to the tiller. It's easy to adjust and doubles as a sheet to tiller system.

06-29-2013 10:02 AM

JoeLena

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

Really good to find this post as I have the same issues.

I can use a bungee as Jeff describes and it seems to work just fine. The main issue I have is that as soon as I turn into the wind and lose steerage the wind pushes the bow around. So I need to be pretty quick to hoist. I ordered a prefeeder and think it will help a lot.

Another frustrating item is getting the mainsheet loose enough to allow me to hoist but not so loose that the boom is swinging like a wild monkey. If I had a topping lift I'm sure it would be easier, but I don't yet.

I also need to add a couple of blocks to make my main halyard easier. On my Rhodes 19 the mast is stepped at the cabin floor with the halyard exiting there. It is cleated off at the centerboard trunk under the cabin, so I have to duck under there to cleat it off. Not far to go, but I would rather stay in the cockpit to do it.

It is great to read different solutions to the same issues, thanks all.

06-28-2013 03:11 PM

CaptnR

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

Re sailhoisting shorthanded.
Simply rig up a steering line, helm to coaming block, forward round mast back to other coaming block, to other side helm. You can now steer from the mast.
R

06-28-2013 11:59 AM

Jeff_H

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

When I had a tiller steered boat, I would leave the shock chord rigged tight across the cockpit the entire time I was sailing. When I wanted to leave the tiller I would take a couple wraps around the end of the tiller and it would be held by friction. The neat thing about this is that you can make small precise adjustments by twisting the wraps a part of a turn around the tiller end. You can make a small twist and then watch what the boat does and either live with it or tweak to your heart's content.

Another thing is that you can shift your weight to steer the boat. You can learn to do this by setting the tiller to steer a straight line on a particular course. Then try steering the boat by moving your weight across the boat. It is amazing how effective this is on smaller boats, so much so that it is how I steered my 28 footer when on the foredeck jibing the spinnaker pole single-handed.

Jeff

06-28-2013 11:05 AM

Alex W

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

If you have two cleats on the sides of the cockpit in line with your tiller you can experiment with tying a line between them that wraps around the tiller with a loose clove hitch.

That acts as a tiller tamer and doesn't get in the way like a real tiller tamer does when you are actually sailing.

The friend who bought my Catalina 25 figured this trick out and it works great. It's much better than the Tiller Tamer that we once had on there.

06-28-2013 08:47 AM

Jeff_H

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

Looking at your deck photo it seems like you could get away with almost no holes in your deck. You should be able to bolt an eye to mount your turning block to the mast pivot bolt on your mast step, and as someone said above, you should be able to buy an extra block mounted on a track car that you could mount on your jib sheet track rather than bolt to the deck. (It will want to be further aft than you show it.) and so all you need is a cam cleat for the halyard.

Jeff

06-28-2013 08:34 AM

SchwarckT

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

If I can't sail right off the dock, I row my 15'er out far enough to get some room, raise the jib and get sailing on a close reach. With the tiller lashed, I can go to the mast and raise the main as it luffs while the boat sails itself. I use the same method in my Mariner and my '22 after I shut off the motor.

06-28-2013 07:53 AM

SHNOOL

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

Bungee cord to "tame the tiller."
Head into the wind as best you can with a slight forward movement...
Ease the mainsheet completely (it'll flop some as you raise).
The sail slugs and the halyard run to the cockpit is really only useful together... if you are going to remain bolt rope the halyard to the cockpit will actually be a pain.

I am a 25 foot sailboat with bolt rope main, with the halyard run to the cockpit, and I usually jump the rope before the deck organizer when I am solo, and raise the main myself that way, then I take up the slack to the halyard after it's up.

But yeah, I'm on a tight lake in the hills too, and the gusts are brutal. Here's the best suggestion I can give you... duck deep into a cove on a windward side (to get shelter), head into the wind, you should have a drop of 50% or better of wind speed, THIS should get you a decent quiet place to raise your mainsail (this is how I do it solo sailing when the winds pipe up, but I still want to sail).

By the way that 165 is a sweet little wing keel boat, you'll have some fun with that. That was on my list at one point in my ladder of upgrade boats.

Welcome to the obsession.

PS. I get that the boat is a might bit tender for going forward to raise the main. You'll likely be MUCH happier with sail slugs, and a sail stopper, and that halyard run to the cockpit as you mocked up (I know - winter project - I am familiar with that)... this was my last winter: www.shnool.com - /images/capri25/Boat Projects-2012/ You'll get use to it all though.

06-28-2013 03:03 AM

PeterH61

Re: Small boat single handed hoisting

I used a tiller tamer on my Venture 22'. Worked great to head forward to hank on the head sail or raise the main.

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